String bean preparing utensil



Jan. 2, 1951 L, Q SHEPPARD A 2,536,230

STRING BEAN PREPARING UTENSIL Filed May 21, 1946 INVENTOR. le@ fire/Jar' HTTZNEKS.

Patented Jan. 2, 1951 4*UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,536,230 STRING BEAN PREPARINGUTEN SIL Lee C. Sheppard, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application Ma-y 21, 1946, Serial No. 671,137

for used safety razor blades around a household,

and that they usually accumulatequite rapidly before being discarded. One Vof the features of the present invention-.is that it provides a secondary use for such used safety razor blades.

.'It is an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved utensil for slicing string beans and thelike, which is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and wherein the cutting elements or blades may be cheaply and easily replaced by the user.

' 4 claims. (el. 14s-171) i serves to retain the blades in the slots in proper Another object of the invention is to provide a utensil for slicing string beans andthe like wherein the effective cutting edges of the blades are shielded to protect the user from accidental injury, and wherein the blades maybe easily and safely removed and replacedl without-requiring the user to nger the cutting edges. I

. Acgprding to the present invention I attainA the foregoing and other objects. by providing a utensil for slicing. string beans-and the like, comprising a body member having a substantially flat surface, andra plurality of spaced apart safety razor blades-.preferably of the IGrillette double edged type-mounted therein.v

and serving as the cutting elements,.the'blades being disposed in planes substantially perpendicular to said flat surface, and preferably being removably mounted 'nsubstantially parallel..

open-ended slots in the body member, with one set of cutting edges projecting above said surface. A second member is also provided which has a surface thereof spaced from and substantially parallel to the first surface and engaging the projecting ends of the blades. The two surfaces serve -to-guide the string beans and the like which are fed' therebetween past the cutting blades, and said: surfaces maybe considered as guiding surfaces for said beans. The second member preferably also serves as a shield for the exposed cutting edges of the blades to protect the user from accidental injury. Thef bladereceiving slots inthe body preferably extend,

therethrough and are closed at theiropposite endsfbyfamgvable closurefplate which normally working position-the slots preferably being constructed to permit endwise withdrawal of the blades from the body to avoid the necessity of the user ngering the cutting edges during such withdrawal. It is also preferred that the cutting edges of the blades be disposed at an angle of approximately 30 to one of said guiding surfaces, in order to assure eilcient cutting action. l Y p For a more. detailed description of the 'invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front velevational view of the slicing utensil of the present invention as viewed from the left in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken onthe lines 2-2 in Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction'of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation viewed fromA the rig-ht in Fig. 2.

Fig; 4 is a side elevation of the body member showing in phantom a safety vrazor blade partly withdrawn therefrom.

Fig 5 is aside elevation of the cover member showing abean topping blade in extended or working position.

Fig. 6 is a view sn'nnar to Fig. 1 with the we cover member and the Yslot closure plate removed.

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of one of the laminations which make up the body portion;v and Fig.- 8 is a perspective view of a wedging clamp for securing the topping blade in selected posi-rv tions. l

.. clined substantially flat front face I4, ,and an.

arcuate rearand bottom face IE.' The body I0 is of a, size and shape to be rmly and comfort-I ably gripped in one hand.

As best seen in Figs. 3 and 7, the body l0 is composed of a plurality of laminations having several holes Il extending therethrough and, accommodating bolts I8 for maintaining thelaminations 'in assembled relation. The bodyis composed of two side sections 2|, 22, and aplurality of intermediate sections 20 of the type. illustrated inv perspective in Fig. '7. As shownA this flgure, the side facesv of the intermediate laminations 20. have beenl .cut away orfrelievedto provide flat -grooyes 25 therein havingilmrallel.

lateral shoulders 26,' 2 1, and a short 'end'.shoulder or stop 28. The shoulders 26, 21 are arranged substantially perpendicularly to the front edge Ida, and the shoulder 26 makes an acute angle 29 with the top edge l3a. The front edge |40: has been recessed at 30 and a projection 3| 'has been formed on the lower end of the front edge Ma adjacent the arcuate portion I 6a.

The inner face of side section 2| conforms substantially tothe upper side face of the .lamina. tion section shown in Fig. 7, andY theinnerface of side section 22 conforms substantially to the bottom side face in the same ligure. When the side sections and intermediate sections are as"-' sembled the flat grooves complementi:cachan.;V other and provide a, plurality of substantially,... parallel elongated slots 33 which extend through the body I0 and are open at each end. The slots-mz; l.

33 are also disposed in planes substantially perpendicular to the plane vrof the top surface|3, with the lateral edge 2lif disposed at an acute anglefto said surface I3. As explainedlater,-this acute angle preferably is approximately The slots 33 also are disposed in -planes'substantially perpendicular to the lfront face I4, Awiththe'edgesl 26, 21; of the slotspreferably disposed'fatright' angles to the front face.`

' best seen in lig.v 2, the slotsf33fare'lofa size and shape tofsnugly accommodatesf'a'-'plurality of safety 'razor' blades Alll which are mounted therein. These blades preferably are offthe- Gillette double edged type 'having llate'ral'cutting 'edges 4|, 42', and notches 43' provided vvat the four corners. The end edges M45-sof th'e blades are unsharpened. The edgef421ofeache blade engages the'shoul'der 21- of'v` the slot 33.and

is completely shielded thereby. The lower-'spor'- tion of lateral edge 4| of each :bladeengagesy `the shoulder'26 of the slot'33, whilefth'e upper- Y:por-

tion of this edge exposed-and projectsla'bove and beyond the top surface-13.'- As bestseerx-inv Fig. 2,onevoi thecorner notches lf3-foreach 'blade engages the short shoulder or stop 28`atthef pperfend ofl each slot,A which serves-toposition the-blades withinv the slots,y and to'= limit the. exe tent to which they project above-th'e-ftoplsurface.

groove 15% Which-islpar'allel. to y"-theffront face 1.5M: A closure plate 52 having resilientlsi'de `.flanges 53'`isfprovided .'With'f inwardly-directed edges adapted toi seat inthe groovesl 502 and tu`4 be`vvv slid therealong, to vprovide a -removaxble-"closure'Z forthe'fopenliends ofthe slots '33." In'closed-posi-2` tionfasfwshown in Figs. 1fY and 2,-1the inner face of thezclosure plate 52 ingage's' the end-'edge '451 of each blade and holds them firmly within-'tha slots `33- The friction betweerrstheiresilient side flanges' 53 and the grooves is suilicient'tormaintain the plate'l 52 in closedZ position; and *thel pro jectipn .3| serves as astop -toflimitfitsclosingr movement.` Y Y As villustrated in Fig. 4j'the plate 52fmay besli'd along 'the groovesS to the open position shown-` to uncover the end edges 45`-of the bladesand to permit their ready removal l'from the body F'ffor either reversalor replacement-I-"Fig 4' shows; -in phantom, oneA ofthe blades p'artlyrrei-i nioved'` from the'body Hl. As best illustrated ini Fig. 6, the recesses 30 in'thefrl'mtface'M'4 align* t'o forma largerrecessexposing the lower' end edges of Cthe blades, Whereby'they may be grippedI betweenlthe thumbv and forefi'nger and 'easily' Withdrawn'. Y The e'nd edges of jlthe-blades are' notV sharpenedand hence the-user is not exposed to aecidntal'i-njury i-n removing.v the blades "ashe f or sh2dees-fnot have' to `finger thevcutting edgesif To assist in the removal of the blades it is possible to apply nger pressure against the upper end edge 44 of each blade, but this ordinarily is not necessary. It will be apparent that as only onefourth of the available cutting edges of a double edged razor blade is availed of, it is possible to reverse the blade positions four times as the cutting edges become dulled with repeated use, before itis necessary to replace` the blades. Also, as `before 'statedf it is not. necessary :nto use new safety razor blades, as it hasY been found that used .razor blades are very satisfactory for slicing string beans and the like with the utensil of the present invention-22' A second member or cover 60, best seen in "Fig: 5``is`also provided. Essentially the cover 6D issof inverted-lueshape having a web portion 6|, resilient side walls 62 and inturned flanges 63. The flanges 63 seatin grooves 64 provided 1 walls-.13 and inturned flanges-.1 4 .a aAwvedgelshapede in the lateral faces of the body l0, which extend inwardly-ffromthe--arcuate rear face Satoper-mit the cover member '60. tuvv be readilyvfremovedwby being-slid along-the: groove 64 '.toftlle rigrhtin Fig. 2.' Al verticalishoulder-ffonthe body limits 4.the forwardfmovementrofthecover. mem--y ber 650.4 y

It will bef'notedlfrom. Figs.l2@':and 5-thatithef web 6| and the side walls 62 overhanglthesh'oulder. 65 so as to'. providefa-Lmoreifcomplete shield for thev exposed cuttingedgesnoffthe. blades. L-In the"` preferredform of. the. inventionsthev distancel bes` tweenxthel inner-f face ofthe@ web 6|;iand the topi7 surfacev1l3f. should be-.less thanzthe thickness'fof: a personse linger, .sol 'asi-to-renderrit practicallyv impossible rfor .the iuserfssnger to'- come into con*-` tact '-Withvthe exposedfouttingffblades. It will also loe-noted that the projectingllends oflthe'A bladesengageagainst; thebinner face ofA the;` web 6| which preferably-'isa at surfacespaced from:v and substantially paralle1:eto. the1ilat topsurface: |3. The two surfaces -f.|3an'd Btl-constitutegu-id-:i ing surfaces for'stringibeans andthe like which are fedtherebetweenfpast the..v cutting edgeslf of the: blades. zflhe exposed cutting: edges ofNthe: bladeslalso y'm'alcearl acuteiangle `.With that .weht surta-cat and as:V -beforefstatedgthis angleLprefer ably isapproximatelyefrg ItV has beenfound: that the most ecientg'cuttingsaction;isiobtainedi if the-cuttingi'e'dges of:the blades are dis'posedat an acute. angleV to'..:one; ofi-said guiding isurfacesgf and anagle of, approximately Soxhas been found; tobetheioptimumzn '5g i A secondl U-rsshaped channely fmember 2.10:. isse-i cured .:.to :the upper-surface Anfl-fthe' web 6|'ffby rivetsthesecond arianne-:1Lhavingv a .web 1- Yside bottomf'rplate ,'l'5s11is 'alsofriveted to :the base' @ofi the channel l 0;:with. theltlckenendfofcthe wedge? locatedsto theleft;l inLFigzxZ. An auxiliaryirazor:

blade'l16-risrloosely mounted inthechannelll and is t slidable ,"therealongf. :tofra#working or ext3 tended pOSitiOma-SshOWmiIYFi'g. 2;.orf=to;a noms: working :position:whereinzztheiablade iscOmpletely".

housed withinl the f channel It.' L1A:wedgingzelamp.1 8D;` shown irr Fig. 8,':having1 ai lknobs on` its-upper if' surface. also slidably mounted :in: the: channel..

"topping blade for use in removing the ends from the string beans in advance of slicing the beans.

In utilizing the slicing utensil of the present invention in the preparation of string beans and the like for cooking, it has been found preferable first to remove the ends from a quantity of beans with the topping blade 16 in the projecting position shown in Fig. 2. Then, the blade 16 is restored to its non-projecting position within the channel and the beans are pushed or pulled through the gang of slicing blades from left to right in Fig. 2 between the top surface I3 on the body member l0 and the inner face of web 6|. With the cutting edges of the blades preferably disposed at an angle of 30 to the plane of the web Isurface 6I, it has been found that an efcient slicing action is assured, and the beans actually ride up the cutting edges and bear against and are guided by surface 6l (which serves as a reacting or guiding surface) as they are pushed or pulled through the gang of blades.

It will be apparent also, that with the cover member 60 in place, the fingers of the user are protected from accidental injury, as the cutting edges of the blades are well shielded. It is also possible to remove the blades individually from the body l0 for replacement or reversal merely by moving the closure plate 52 to uncover the slots 33 and withdrawing each blade endwise from the body by gripping the unsharpened end 45 of the blade and by applying assisting pressure to the upper end edge 44, if necessary.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, the blades 40 are only removable from the ends of the slots in the front face lll-the shoulders 28 at the upper ends of the slots preventing withdrawal of the blades from the top surface ends. It is possible, however, to eliminate the shoulders 28 and have the cover member 60 serve to retain the blades within the slots. Then when the cover 60 is removed by being slid along the grooves 64, the blades can be pulled out of the slots at the top surface ends.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it will be apparent that changes may be made therein, without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for slicing string beans and the like comprising a member having a substantially at surface, a plurality of spaced-apart flat cutting blades removably mounted within said member and disposed in planes substantially perpendicular to said surface, said blades having cutting edges projecting beyond said surface, and a second member having a surface spaced from and substantially parallel to said first-mentioned surface engaging the projecting ends of said blades and covering the projecting cutting edges thereof and providing a protective guard for said cutting edges, at least one of said surfaces constituting a guiding surface over which string beans are adapted to pass and to be fed past said cutting blades.

2. A device for slicing string beans and the like comprising a member having a substantially at surface, a plurality of spaced-apart flat blades removably mounted within said member and disposed-in planes substantially perpendicular to said surface, said blades having at least part of their cutting edges projecting beyond said surface, and a cover for said projecting blades flanking their side faces and having a surface portion spaced from and substantially parallel to said first-mentioned surface engaging the projecting ends of said blades and overhanging their projecting cutting edges and providing a protective guard for said cutting edges, said substantially parallel surfaces constituting guiding surfaces between which string beans are adapted to pass and to be fed past said cutting blades.

3. A device for slicing string beans and the like comprising a member having a substantially flat surface, a plurality of slots in said member communicating with said surface and disposed in planes substantially perpendicular thereto, a plurality of double-edged safety razor blades removably mounted in said slots, each said blade having at least part of one cutting edge projecting above said surface and another cutting edge within said slot, and a second member having a surface thereof spaced from and substantially parallel to said first-mentioned surface and er1- gaging the projecting ends of said blades and overlying the projecting cutting edge portions thereof and providing a protective guard for said cutting edges.

4. A device for slicing string beans and the like, comprising a wedge-shaped body member having the top and front surfaces thereof forming a V in longitudinal cross-section and having a plurality of substantially parallel-walled, longitudinal slots therein communicating with said surfaces, the maior surfaces of said slots lying in planes perpendicular to the top surface of the body member and the side Walls of said slots being substantially perpendicular to said front surface of the body member, a plurality of doubleedged safety razor blades removably mounted within said slots and having at least part of their cutting edges projecting above and beyond said top surface of the body member, a U-shaped cover member mounted on said body having a web portion spaced from and substantially parallel to the said top surface and engaging the free ends of said projecting blades, and a movable closure member engaging said front surface of the body member and slidable therealong, said closure member in one position overlying said slots and retaining said blades therein, and in another position uncovering said slots to permit endwise removal of the blades therefrom.

LEE C. SHEPPARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of `record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,176,257 Velcansky Mar. 21, 1916 1,390,565 Knowles Sept. 13, 1921 1,619,746 Miller Mar. 1, 1927 1,827,977 Erl Oct. 20, 1931 2,082,524 Sell June 1, 1937 2,323,863 Feemster July 6, 1943 2,418,581 Evernden Apr. 8, 1947 

